Where is Derry? Any theories?
Daniel P. B. Smith
King gives so many clues, he almost seems to be inviting us to play.
Some of King's clues (in the novel, _It_):
1) It is twenty-six miles from the Avis counter at Bangor International
to the Derry town line.
2) The telephone number of the Derry Town House is 207-941-8282.
3) Derry is situated in a valley of the Kenduskeag Stream, and has
problems with drainage.
4) Richard Tozier leaves the turnpike at the Etna-Haven exit, takes
route 9 through Haven, turns off onto route 7, and takes 7 into Derry.
Derry is in Penobscot County.
5) There is a plastic statue of Paul Bunyan in Derry.
Who's Who says that King was born in Bangor and taught at one point in
Hampden.
Now, the facts: there is an actual Kenduskeag Stream and it does drain
into the Penobscot River. In my DeLorme Maine Atlas it looks as if the
source of the Kenduskeag Stream might be the Garland Pond. There is a
town of Garland and a number of other small towns in that area, which is
indeed about 26 miles or so from Bangor. Garland has a population of
713. There is also a town named Dexter, pop. 4299, in the area, but it's
not on the Kenduskeag Stream. Almost all of that area of Maine seems to
be full of streams, bogs, and marshes, so they probably all have
drainage problems. Those clues seems to put Derry about 26 miles
northwest of Bangor.
207 is the correct area code for Maine. Many numbers in Bangor seem to
have exchanges beginning in 94, and the Bangor Airport Hilton has a
phone number beginning in 941, so the 941 exchange seems to be on the
west side of Bangor itself.
Bangor has a Paul Bunyan Park near the fairgrounds, and there is indeed
a fairly tacky statue of Paul Bunyan there (we stopped there once to
take a lunch break on our way to Acadia National Park), but for all I
know many other towns in Maine may have them, too. So those clues seem
to suggest Bangor itself, perhaps the neighborhood to the west through
which the Kenduskeag Stream flows.
I-95 goes through Bangor. Although I-95 as a whole goes North-South,
the section "south" of Bangor actually runs almost perfectly East-West.
There is an Etna Center just off of I-95 some fifteen miles west of
Bangor. However, that exit does not connect with either Route 9 or
Route 7. I-95 does not appear to connect with Route 9 at all, which
also runs roughly East-West and is roughly five miles south of I-95.
Tozier could not leave I-95 at Route 9 and take Route 9 to Route 7. He
could, however, take Exit 41, which is the exit _before_ Etna, take 7
about eight miles south to Route 9, then take Route 9 about fifteen
miles east into Hampden, which looks almost like a southern suburb of
Bangor, maybe four miles south of Bangor Center. The Kenduskeag Stream
does not flow through Hampden, but Souadabscot Stream does (and joins
the Penobscot river, just as the Kenduskeag does).
King taught at a school in Hampden at one point. If one were going to
Hampden, the fastest way would probably be to take I-95 into Bangor, but
if one were on a sentimental journey one could imagine leaving I-95,
taking route 7 south to route 9, and taking route 9 in. This is pretty
similar to what Tozier did, and it seems to point to Hampden.
Hampden is not in Penobscot county (which is fifteen miles _south_ of
Bangor).
Obviously, it's somewhere in the Bangor area, and, obviously, King has
deliberately planted contradictory clues. My own guess is that Derry is
Hampden or something on the outskirts of Bangor itself. After all,
Derry may be a small town but it seems to have dark urban undertones to
it. Anybody else have any theories?
--
Daniel P. B. Smith
dpbs...@world.std.com
Brian Jones
: OK, it's a silly game to play, but let's play it anyway. After all,
acording to the street outlay, with the exception of some of the landmarks
(such as ther Bunyun statue) Derry IS Bangor
Erik Ratcliffe
Whatserface" there is a map of Maine that shows where Derry is.
I could be wrong, though...
(Of course, most of the stuff that's in this fictitious town is actually in
Bangor, like the standpipe and other features.)
--
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Robert Oliver
Daniel P. B. Smith <dpbs...@world.std.com> wrote:
>2) The telephone number of the Derry Town House is 207-941-8282.
I called this number and it just rang and rang.
>207 is the correct area code for Maine. Many numbers in Bangor seem to
>have exchanges beginning in 94, and the Bangor Airport Hilton has a
>phone number beginning in 941, so the 941 exchange seems to be on the
>west side of Bangor itself.
The most common exchanges in Bangor are 941, 945, 947 and 990.
>Bangor has a Paul Bunyan Park near the fairgrounds, and there is indeed
>a fairly tacky statue of Paul Bunyan there (we stopped there once to
>take a lunch break on our way to Acadia National Park), but for all I
>know many other towns in Maine may have them, too. So those clues seem
>to suggest Bangor itself, perhaps the neighborhood to the west through
>which the Kenduskeag Stream flows.
Bangor is the only city in Maine that I know of that has a 31-foot statue
of Bunyan in it. It stands in front of Bass Park, which very closely
matches the description of Derry's Bassey Park, including fairgrounds, a
racetrack and a civic center.
>Hampden is not in Penobscot county (which is fifteen miles _south_ of
>Bangor).
Hampden is in Penobscot County. It's border with Winterport is also the
border between Penobscot and Waldo counties.
>Obviously, it's somewhere in the Bangor area, and, obviously, King has
>deliberately planted contradictory clues. My own guess is that Derry is
>Hampden or something on the outskirts of Bangor itself. After all,
>Derry may be a small town but it seems to have dark urban undertones to
>it. Anybody else have any theories?
As someone who lives next to Bangor in Brewer, I can tell you that there
are a lot of similarities between Derry and Bangor. It makes me think that
King was a bit lazy in creating an entirely new town and jost borrowed a
lot from Bangor.
--
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Sarah E Kahn
: King gives so many clues, he almost seems to be inviting us to play.
: Some of King's clues (in the novel, _It_):
Wow, Daniel. This is so cool. I'm afraid I have very
little to contribute, as I know nothing about Maine geography,
but I just thought I'd point out that Derry is on the map showing
the path of the eclipse in the cloth edition of _Gerald's Game._
Probably won't help you at all, as you seem to have already pinned
down Derry's location much more specifically, but I just thought
I'd mention it.
-- Sarah
PWA...@maine.maine.edu
Daniel P.B. Smith wrote:
: OK, it's a silly game to play, but let's play it anyway. After all,
: King gives so many clues, he almost seems to be inviting us to play.
: Some of King's clues (in the novel, _It_):
(some other clues deleted)
: 4) Richard Tozier leaves the turnpike at the Etna-Haven exit, takes
: route 9 through Haven, turns off onto route 7, and takes 7 into Derry.
: Derry is in Penobscot County.
Sounds like King either moved I-95 a few miles east there, or else Tozier took
the scenic route. k
: 5) There is a plastic statue of Paul Bunyan in Derry.
(more clues deleted)
:207 is the correct area code for Maine. Many numbers in Bangor seem to
: have exchanges beginning in 94, and the Bangor Airport Hilton has a
: phone number beginning in 941, so the 941 exchange seems to be on the
: west side of Bangor itself.
I don't think the exchanges are location-specific; 941 is a relatively recent a
addition to the Bangor exchanges -- just a few years old.
: Bangor has a Paul Bunyan Park near the fairgrounds, and there is indeed
: a fairly tacky statue of Paul Bunyan there (we stopped there once to
: take a lunch break on our way to Acadia National Park), but for all I
: know many other towns in Maine may have them, too.
Only one that I know of for sure, and it's nowhere near Bangor, and nowhere nea
r as big as Bangor's. Bangor's is the one that gets the attention. And yes, it
is tacky. But it still keeps turning up in annoying local TV commercials. Yuck.
:..So those clues seem to suggest Bangor itself, perhaps the neighborhood to th
:to the west through which the Kenduskeag Steam flows.
: I-95 goes through Bangor. Although I-95 as a whole goes North-South,
: the section "south" of Bangor actually runs almost perfectly East-West.
: There is an Etna Center just off of I-95 some fifteen miles west of
: Bangor. However, that exit does not connect with either Route 9 or
: Route 7. I-95 does not appear to connect with Route 9 at all, which
: also runs roughly East-West and is roughly five miles south of I-95.
: Tozier could not leave I-95 at Route 9 and take Route 9 to Route 7. He
: could, however, take Exit 41, which is the exit _before_ Etna, take 7
: about eight miles south to Route 9, then take Route 9 about fifteen
:miles east into Hampden, which looks almost like a southern suburb of
: Bangor, maybe four miles south of Bangor Center. The Kenduskeag Stream
: does not flow through Hampden, but Souadabscot Stream does (and joins
: the Penobscot river, just as the Kenduskeag does).
Close on the spelling, but no cigar. Its "Souadabscook."
He could take the Etna-Dixmont exit off I-95, turn right onto Route 69, turn ri
right at Route 9, then turn right onto Route 7, sort of completing three
sides of square.
: If one were going to
: Hampden, the fastest way would probably be to take I-95 into Bangor...
Actually, one could take the Cold Brook Road exit in Hampden.
: Hampden is not in Penobscot county (which is fifteen miles _south_ of
: Bangor).
Yes, both Bangor and Hampden *are* in Penobscot County, as is the Dexter-Garlan
d-Corinna area.
(more stuff deleted)
: Daniel P. B. Smith
In another post, nigh...@bu.edu (Brian Jones) sez...
....acording to the street outlay, with the exception of some of the landmarks
(such as ther Bunyun statue) Derry IS Bangor...
You seem to be suggesting Bangor has no Paul Bunyan statue. It does.
There are other Bangor-like landmarks, I understand. (I haven't read "IT" yet,
but living in the area, you hear these things.) One example is the restaurant,
the Jade of the Orient. Bangor has the Oriental Jade. There are other things t
hat I can't recall. Anyway, I'm pretty sure from hearing it discussed locally t
hat Bangor *is* Derry, just relocated, with a few geographic differences. In a
parallel-universe Maine, perhaps.
Here's another cool fact: If you recall mention of a guy who worked at the new
spaper named Dave Bright (I think it was in It, but may have been in another bo
book, he's a real guy. e
I used to work with him at the newspaper, and he has the
greatest story about how he made a work-related phone call out of state once an
d when he identified himself to the switchboard person, there was this long pau
se, then she told him she had just in the last few minutes read his name in the
book. Eerie. Anyway, Dave and SK were college students together at the Univers
ity of Maine (Orono campus -- also where I went to school, and where I now work
) and worked on the student newspaper together.
Gotta say, it's pretty wild to hear the town you live in discussed like this.
Cheers,
-- Peg
